The theatre which is now the Royal Opera House Covent Garden celebrated its centenary in 1958 when this book was published. For a century before its foundation in 1858, however, opera was regularly performed in the two theatres which were its predecessors on the site. The works performed, the singers, musicians, composers and conductors, managers, management, syndicates and backers, and not least the often-fickle audiences are recounted in full and their various parts fitted into the general pattern. Harold Rosenthal was for seven years the official archivist at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and had ready access to all the material for this book. He was well known for talks about music on the radio. Illustrated with black and white photographs of stars such as Chaliapin, Kirsten Flagstad, Caruso, as well as reproductions of illustrations from the 18th and 19th century. Signed by the author.Condition: Good. Inside pages have only a few annotations. Jacket present, covered in plastic, but marks from adhesive tape on flaps and endpapers. Handwritten note that it is a signed copy on front endpaper.